A new repeat and a no-no; recipes # 6 & 7

Good evening friends!
Well this evening's meal brought us a yummy change of pace and a universal veto. Recipes #6 & 7 are Baked Sweet-Glazed Hamsteaks and Baked Carrots both of which came from http://www.meals4you.com/. The Hamsteaks are a bit of a departure for us. The Ortega/Jantz household doesn't usually have much pork products, aside from Bacon of course which makes Everything better! In an attempt to stray from the usual chicken and turkey I thought these would make a nice change. I was right! The recipe is easy, fast and delicious! And so much cheaper than buying a premade honey baked ham (Bonus!!). Other than the last minute run to the store for brown sugar, it went quickly and was easy. The Baked Carrots required a bit more prep and didn't turn out as well. We're calling this Veto Numero Uno. :) Can't win 'em all huh?! BUT-I'm still absolutely encouraging you all to try them. Don't hesitate based on our tastes.

So here are the recipes and pics for your perusal;

Baked Sweet-Glazed Ham Steaks
Prep: 10 min, Cook: 20 min.
•1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
•1/4 cup honey
•1/4 tsp. dry mustard
•4 whole cloves
•4 boneless ham steaks, about 1/4 lb. each (I had 5)
•4 pineapple slices
Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 2-3 minutes. Discard the cloves. Place ham steaks in a well-greased baking dish. Top each steak with a pineapple slice and an equal portion of the honey and brown sugar glaze. Bake for 15 minutes.

I left ours in for about 25 minutes (I had 2 pans with a total of 5 steaks). If you make more than 4 you'll need to increase the amounts of each above by a little. I didn't put any glaze or pineapple on the 5th as it was for Justice. During baking, the steaks release some of their water so it thins out the glaze a bit, hence the recommendation to make more glaze for more than 4 steaks. ;)

Baked Carrots
Prep: 10 min, Cook: 25 min.
•1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
•1 ounce Swiss cheese, grated (I'm pretty positive I used about 3-4oz as I grated about 1/2 the 8oz block)
•1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. unsalted butter
•1/4 cup onion, minced (I used dried minced as usual and only a Tbsp or so)
•1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. all purpose flour
•1 cup skim milk, hot
•1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs (cornflake crumbs as usual)
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place carrots in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover saucepan and steam 3 minutes or until tender. Transfer half the carrots to the bottom of a baking dish. Sprinkle half the cheese over carrots. Add remaining carrots and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onion 2-3 minutes or until tender. Whisk in flour and salt to taste. Cook 1-2 minutes or until mixture begins to bubble. Very gradually whisk in hot milk and stir until sauce is thickened. Pour sauce over carrots and cheese. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake 15-20 minutes or until top is golden.

I used cornflake crumbs and let me warn you, 1/2 cup is too much. You only need 1/4 cup. Ours turned out way too 'crumby' and I didn't even use the whole amount. This dish just wasn't to our tastes, but it sure did sound good. Carrots-good. Swiss cheese-good. What's not to love? For us, it was the overall finished product but I absolutely still recommend you try this one. I hope to hear from many of you telling me how much of a hit it was for you. Let me know!!!

Justice guarding the finished hamsteaks! :)

Hope you all enjoy these new additions to the mix and can't wait to hear some feedback!
Mo